Atlas Brown Inc. Raises Stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,765 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $1,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Walmart by 479.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 18,479,259 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,200,000 after purchasing an additional 15,290,936 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Walmart by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 63,135,639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,098,203,000 after buying an additional 7,200,004 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Walmart by 8,814.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,963,218 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $562,280,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885,106 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Walmart by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 87,617,409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,048,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Walmart by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 47,659,844 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,848,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,107,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 26.76% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.79, for a total value of $2,411,175.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,843,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,238,881.91. This trade represents a 0.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total transaction of $166,624.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 457,493 shares in the company, valued at $36,915,110.17. This represents a 0.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,412 shares of company stock valued at $12,478,116. Insiders own 45.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Walmart from $81.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Walmart to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Walmart from $86.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on Walmart from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.08.

Walmart Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WMT traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.84. The company had a trading volume of 13,647,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,913,391. The stock has a market cap of $745.82 billion, a PE ratio of 38.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.55. Walmart Inc. has a one year low of $53.39 and a one year high of $96.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $90.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.78% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $169.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $167.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Walmart Inc. will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.